Tuesday, November 26, 2013

I received my flu shot. I had my ultrasound then saw my nurse practitioner. My blood pressure was 124/78. Baby's heart rate was 161, which is good for this stage. His estimated weight is 11 ounces, which is within normal range for the gestational age. She said that all organs and bone structures looked perfect.

However, the umbilical cord has a "marginal cord insertion”, which means that instead of the umbilical cord inserting into the center of the placenta (the meatiest part), it’s inserted into the side of the placenta. In a small percentage of cases this can affect the growth of the baby but that Jeremias is growing right on track so we seem to be fine. If there IS a growth problem, they more than likely wouldn’t see it until the third trimester. I guess it has something to do with how the baby takes up more space in the uterus and somehow isn’t getting enough nutrients from the placenta to grow at a normal rate. They recommended growth ultrasounds every four weeks, which would be increased if they notice anything abnormal. There is a very low risk of anything happening. The nurse practitioner said the doctor is not usually concerned about this condition. We will all keep a close eye on the little guy to make sure he is getting enough food in his belly!

My family

Welcome to my surrogacy blog!

Hi. My name is Carla. I am married to Brian. We have been married almost 10 years. We had 3 children in 2.5 years: Gareth (6-06), Zane (9-07), and Iris (1-09). Brian works as a web programmer. I used to be a social worker for people with developmental disabilities, but now stay home with our children.

In June 2009, we moved from a nice, cookie cutter subdivision to a humble, little, farm house, on 10 acres, in rural east central Illinois. We are interested in living a simpler life moving towards self sufficiency. We are interested in homesteading, gardening, beekeeping, and atheism/secular humanism/skepticism. I am a crafter of all sorts of creations - love to sew and quilt, and have many other interests, including weaving, pottery, painting, scrapbooking, among other things.

Our family feels complete - we are very done having babies for ourselves! My husband had a vasectomy to ensure that we would not be surprised with another baby.

I started thinking about becoming a gestational surrogate during my second pregnancy. The feelings I had did not fade, so here we are now. We were lucky enough to conceive quickly/naturally and have "easy" pregnancies. I have friends and have read about many people that have fertility issues and it does not come so easily for them. It saddens me that they can not fulfill their dreams. I was able to help a couple complete their family, delivering a baby girl, in December 2011. I am now on my second and final journey, helping 2 men from Argentina become daddies, with additional help from an egg donor.

Feel free to ask any questions. I tend to be an open book as long as there is genuine, sincere, respectful interest.